1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to sheet handling apparatus, and more particularly to a guide for maintaining receiver sheets, bearing a toned image, in a travel path between a series of transport mechanisms.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the copy/duplicating field, it is common to use electrostatic principles to form charged latent images on intermediate photoconductive members. The charged latent images are developed by application of oppositely charged toner particles to the image area. After development, the image is transferred to a receiver member, such as a sheet of paper, brought into intimate contact with the developed image. The transferred image is fixed to the receiver member by, for example, the application of heat and/or pressure which causes the toner to become tackified and stick to the receiver member.
Transport of the receiver member from the fixing station must be accomplished with care since the toner on the receiver member may remain in its tackified state for a finite period of time and can thus be smeared if not handled properly. If the toned image is on the underside of the receiver member, the member may be transported by a vacuum transport positioned above the receiver member travel path. However, since the beam strength of the receiver member may be adversely affected in the fixing operation, a guide for the receiver member between the fixing station and the transport is desireable. As noted, care must be taken in handling the member in this area because of the potential smear problem.